South (Crosspost from quotev)

Chapter1

Cool wind whistled harshly through the near barren forest. Bone-dry leaves clung to the skeleton branches as a vixen crashed through dead undergrowth. The tiny bundle swinging from her jaws was silent as it's mother navigated on pure instinct. The cacophony of thoughts ratting inside her mind all coalesced into an inescapable war of ideas. They all screamed to go back before she makes a mistake; they all shouted for her to do it, get it over with before there's any more suffering. She skid to a halt and looked for anything to build a sort of shelter. It wouldn't be a den,just a little nest but she couldn't bear to think of not having something to protect her son from the cold.

It was a strange idea to make shelter something that would so soon be left  to the crows but she couldn't,just couldn't let him die without a place to sleep.

Her pale blue eyes stared at the rough bundle of grass and leaves.It was wedged behind a rock to keep him safe from the wind.It wouldn't hold much warmth though,there were too many gaps in the blades of grass and the cold ground could be seen from the bottom.Nevertheless the gingerly lowered the silent pup into his nest.He was so tiny,utterly helpless.His chest only faintly rose and fell.Try as she might she just couldn't justify this,she couldn't take care of him.She didn't have any motherly instincts.He'd just grow up suffering and die young.That was no life to live.This forest would be his resting place,it was peaceful with vibrant summers and glittering winters.He'd want to be laid down here,she told herself.Birds watched quietly from above as she took one last at the shivering little bundle tucked away into that ragged nest.

Chirp's eyes opened to the dull blue sky and the high,barren branches of trees.The crisp autumn air chilled his nose and blew through his ruddy pelt.It stirred him to shake out his perpetually messy fur.No matter how much sifting through his fur was done feathers always seemed to stick out from somewhere.It was unbecoming but part of him was proud to have them sticking up from his pelt.He liked how they would like the way they lied flat like the rest of his fur,how it almost seemed to seamlessly transition into his coat.

His emerald eyes wandered over to the plump little ball of feathers still asleep in his nest.One of her grey feet twitched occasionally with the gentle rise and fall of her breathing.Creeping closer,ever so silently until his dark nose was nearly brushing against the fluffy robin.

Her beady black eyes shot open with a start and a rush of hot air.

Chirp stood beaming down at her."Good morning Harriett."He chuckled lightly.

She just ruffled her feathers in mock annoyance.

Paws hit the frosty ground as the robin followed her fox down to the ground.Their nest was built in a younger tree,it's branches didn't reach to the canopy yet which made it easier on chirp when getting in and out.It's trunk was covered in scratch marks from every time he scrambled up and down.The nest itself too was unusual,big enough for both of them to comfortably sleep in and constructed out of thick branches that were sturdy enough to hold a fox safely.

On the forest floor there was no escape from the cacophonous noise of birds chattering amongst themselves.It was inescapable,it bounced off the trees and was carried on the wind.

It seemed every day that the talk became more and more dominated by how they would fly south for the winter.

He'd never wondered about that but as the chatter swirled around him it made him think.For all his wishing on stars during the colder months he didn't have wings,he couldn't fly with the rest of them.He shook his head to dislodge his worries from taking root in his mind.There was still plenty of time before the forest would be plunged into the thick of winter.He still had time before he had to figure out what he'd do.

The wind was cool and fresh as it ruffled his russet pelt and stung his nose.It carried a familiar scent and before he could say anything a great red-tailed hawk had dropped down in front of him,a rabbit hanging limp in her beak.

It disgusted him the way his stomach growled at the scent of it's blood.

"C'mon,you need it."She cawed,nudging the carcass closer with her beak.

His muzzle wrinkled at the sight of it's limp body."Do I really have to today Briar?Can't I just go find something else?"It was a weak excuse and he knew the hawk wouldn't let him go without eating.

All she did was offer a stern look before he settled down to tentatively eat with her.

He didn't remember autumn well,he'd been but a pup when the first flakes of snow fell but he did recall the deep chill of winter,grey skies that were barren of bird nor bug,the skeleton trees that clawed desperately at the heavens,the deafening silence that permeated the air.In those days he believed he and Briar to be the only creatures alive in the snowbound wasteland.It was such a surprise when spring's first leaves began to unfurl and new faces arrived in droves.Robins,ravens,and finches that filled the trees with their chatter.It'd be sad to see the world go blank again and he hoped that maybe it wouldn't be as bad this time.

The breeze ruffled through his russet pelt as the sounds of annoyed warbling from somewhere along his normal trail.

"I'm sorry for holding you up Harriett,I'll be there in a second."He dashed off,leaving what was left of the carcass for Briar.

Frosted leaves crunched underpaw as Chirp followed the soft sound of Heriett hopping along the ground.The loud babbling of a stream he'd expected to hear was muffled as undergrowth thinned opening up to mud frozen over and pebbles glazed with ice.The tiny robin fluttered over to the tangle of raspberry vines that they'd so eagerly waited to eat from back when the sun shined brighter.Now there were barely any berries left,black and stiff from chill.He poked his muzzle to get them minding the thorns that seemed to stick out more prominently than in the summer months.

What little fruit that was left was cold,frozen and bitter nothing like the ones he'd eaten during the summer and soft downy fur clung to his haunches and face.Now there were only little patches of the old wispy hairs at the base of his large ears.

He could hear the pulse of the stream beneath the ice and with tentative pawsteps he began to follow to where it sprung up from a cleft between two rocks.The fractured ice on the bank stung like needles on his pawpads as he wondered if he would actually have to leave.Could he find a way to survive like this?Growing up he'd been told that it wasn't his nature to migrate,that when he was old enough he'd have to survive through the winter on his own.Was he ready to be alone though?He still felt too young to be left alone.Or was that just him not wanting to be left alone?He shook his head.There was no reason to think about that now,he still had time.

The spring warbled in the pallid landscape as it refused to let the frost claim it.The water was as cool and sweet as it always was and reminded him of the first time he'd drank from it.Still hear the familiar maternal sound of Zinnia's gentle mew.'Oh Chirp look you've gone and got your paws all muddy.'She seemed like a giant back then,towering over him with her thick tripped pelt that reminded him of tree bark and the tattered pink collar that jingled with every step.Now he was her size,maybe a little taller the gifted collar cutting through his thick fur.It wasn't too long ago leaving him with one final lick behind his ear and a long goodbye.

A white fleck floated freely in his vision and he noticed there were others,barely noticeable falling from the sky.They collected and contrasted against his russet pelt.They swirled with the wind and collected on the ground.

He jumped when Hariett landed on his head.Had he really forgotten her in his reminiscing?

"It's getting cold,let's get back to the nest."She cawed,huddling closer to his warmth.

"Yeah,before the snow starts really coming down."

He buried his head in the autumn leaves feathers and grass that lined the large nest and Hariett buried herself in the plume of his tail.The only thing he dreamt of was the howling of wind and the hasty fluttering of wings.

When he woke up and poked his head above the fresh blanket of snow the world was silent;shook the snow from his ears,still silent.It was a complete lack of life,the forest he'd known all his life left and abandoned.Harriet raised her head and he breathed a little sigh of relief maybe he wasn't completely alone.With one last scrabble down from his home nest he knew it was his turn to fly south.